Glenn Youngskin, the Governor of Virginia, has forced through an amendment on a bipartisan bill that would require data center developers to disclose the environmental and noise impacts of their installations prior to receiving local approval.

The Republican Governor's intervention means that the bill, HB1601, will not be enforced until 2026 at the earliest.

According to reporting from InsideNova, the measure had passed both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly with wide-ranging support.

The bill would have legislated that any approval of a new high energy use facility (HEUF) would require applicants to "perform and submit a site assessment to examine the sound profile of the HEUF on residential units and schools located within 500 feet of the HEUF property boundary.”

In addition the bill would have required “a site assessment examine the effect of the proposed facility on (i) ground and surface water resources, (ii) agricultural resources, (iii) parks, (iv) registered historic sites, and (v) forestland on the HEUF site or immediately contiguous land.”

The amendment enacted by the Governor now means that the bill will not take effect unless it is re-enacted by the 2026 General Assembly.

In response to the decision by Youngskin, one of the bill’s sponsors, Josh Thomas, described the intervention as "disappointing." Arguing that “HB1601 was carefully crafted with bipartisan input to ensure transparency, to protect our communities, and give local governments the tools they need to make informed decisions.”

Virginia is the world's largest data center market by a significant margin and is only expected to get bigger. Dominion - the electrical utility that serves the state - reported in February that it had 40GW of contracted power for data centers as of December 2024, up 88 percent since July 2024.

Lawmakers in the state have made a concerted effort to regulate the sector's growth, citing environmental and power concerns. Last September, officials in Fairfax County passed regulations that require data centers to be at least 200 feet away from residential areas, a mile away from a Metro station, and proposals will have to conduct noise studies.

However, some attempts to curtail the growth have failed to gain political support. Notably, January's House Bill 2027, which would have meant data centers requiring 100MW or more power would have had to seek permission from the Virginia business regulator, failed to pass.